Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 15 Reckless Acts and Individual Divergence
Zhu Jue finally understood why Emperor Chongzhen in history had decided to prosecute the eunuch faction for treason.

The reason is clearly not that Wei Zhongxian was lawless and acted recklessly.

Even if Wei Zhongxian was lawless, at most he could only disrupt the court, which had nothing to do with treason. To judge him as a traitor would be a bit absurd.

The treasonous case is an attempt to rebel and usurp the throne!

Treason was the most serious crime in feudal dynasties. Anyone who dared to rebel would be executed by being cut into a thousand pieces and having their entire family wiped out.

It's impossible that Emperor Chongzhen couldn't distinguish between treason and lawlessness.

The evidence presented by the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party was sufficient to prove that Wei Zhongxian was plotting a rebellion, which is why Emperor Chongzhen established the case of the eunuch party's rebellion.

He dared to harm even princes, and he dared to torture and kill pregnant concubines at will. He even drugged the empress to induce an abortion. Could Emperor Chongzhen possibly forgive Wei Zhongxian?
Fortunately, he was not Emperor Chongzhen, or rather, he was not Zhu Youjian.

He was not an ignorant and naive young man who was oblivious to the ways of the world. Although the evidence seemed irrefutable, there were still some suspicious points.

If he concludes that Wei Zhongxian is plotting a rebellion based on this, then he has fallen into the trap set by the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party!

He thought for a moment, then announced loudly, "Summon Lu Xiang-sheng and Sun Chuan-ting to come and pay their respects."

Lu Xiang-sheng and Sun Chuanting arrived shortly afterward.

The current emperor has already told them to avoid getting involved with the outer court, so naturally they will no longer go to the Ministry of War.

Zhu Juena also sent someone to inform the newly appointed Minister of War, Tian Ji, that whatever they wanted to investigate, they could simply order the eunuchs under Wang Chengen to retrieve it.

The two of them looked up information in the nearby Yangxin Hall and arrived quickly.

After the emperor and his minister exchanged greetings, Zhu Jue solemnly asked, "How is the situation in the capital region and Liaodong?"

Lu Xiang-sheng remained as modest as ever, and did not interrupt.

Sun Chuanting quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the situation in Liaodong is extremely precarious."

Last year and in the first half of this year, Yuan Chonghuan won a series of great victories in Liaodong. However, the court not only failed to reward him, but also falsely accused him of privately negotiating peace with the Jurchens. Yuan Chonghuan was so angry that he resigned his post and left. The soldiers in Liaodong were already quite resentful.

Furthermore, the soldiers fought desperately, yet not only did they receive no military merit rewards, their rations and pay were withheld for over a year, as if they were guilty of committing a crime for achieving successive victories.

The governor of Liaodong, Bi Zisu, submitted several memorials, saying that if the soldiers' pay and rations were not distributed soon, they would starve to death!

"Currently, morale in Liaodong is low, and resentment is boiling over. I fear that if this drags on any longer, it will incite a mutiny."

You really are something, you even predicted the mutiny!

The Liaodong garrison was indeed undergoing a rapid change of regime.

Zhu Jue nodded slowly, then asked, "Jian Dou, what about the capital region?"

Oh, how do I put this?

Lu Xiang-sheng sighed inwardly before explaining in detail: "Your Majesty, the situation in the capital region is also quite dire."

Since Qi Jiguang left office, the morale of the border troops in Jizhou Town has been low. In addition, the three major campaigns of Wanli and the Liaodong War have almost completely depleted the fighting force of Jizhou Town. Now, the remaining troops have hardly been trained and have little combat power.

The Beijing Garrison's more than 400,000 troops are still in force, and there seem to be quite a few able-bodied men. However, since Qi Jiguang resigned, the Beijing Garrison has never been assembled for training again. Moreover, most of their farmland has been seized by corrupt officials and even nobles, leaving them with insufficient food.

When I went to take over the military farms yesterday, I saw that many of the able-bodied men in the Beijing garrison were emaciated. These men, who are chronically underfed, are incapable of fighting on the battlefield; they could probably only carry weapons for a few miles.

No wonder the Jurchens were able to rampage through the capital region seven times in history, as if they were in an empty field.

With the capital garrison and the border troops stationed in Jizhou both rendered useless, who would be left to resist the Jurchens!

It seems we can't delay any longer.

Zhu Jue nodded solemnly, then announced loudly, "Summon Wei Zhongxian to come and pay his respects."

Wei Zhongxian arrived quickly. At this point, he was even more fearless than a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water. He had gotten away with killing the emperor's great-uncle, so what did he have to be afraid of?

After respectfully performing the courtly rituals between ruler and subject, he even nodded slightly to Lu Xiang-sheng and Sun Chuanting, who were standing on either side, to show his closeness.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue didn't waste any time and directly picked up the memorial and asked Wang Chengen to read it.

This terrified Wei Zhongxian so much that it felt like he had been struck by lightning. His mind nearly exploded, and he almost collapsed, completely losing his senses.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue coldly said, "What else do you have to say?"

What else do I have to say?
What else can I say!
Husband and wife are birds of the same forest, they fly separately when disaster strikes!
Besides, we're not a real couple.

Ke Yinyue, you, the Lady of the Holy Spirit, are serving the Tianqi Emperor, not the Chongzhen Emperor. It's no use for me to try to please you!

Wei Zhongxian seemed to have come back to his senses, and he prostrated himself on the ground, saying urgently, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I did not do any of this! It was all done by Madam Ke!"

Relying on her status as the late emperor's wet nurse, she acted as if she were the mistress of the harem. She would arbitrarily suppress and harm any concubines or even the empress who showed her the slightest disrespect. When Imperial Noble Consort Ren gained power by giving birth to the third prince and was not very respectful to her, she devised a plan to kill the third prince.

Consort Yu, née Zhang, was unable to perform the proper rites due to her advanced pregnancy. So, the concubine falsely accused her of being pregnant for thirteen months without giving birth, banished her to the Cold Palace, and ordered her to be beaten to death.

Because the Empress spoke a few words on behalf of the concubines in front of the late Emperor, she was given an abortifacient, causing the Empress to miscarry.

"The affairs of the inner palace are none of my concern. If I were to do even one of these things, Her Majesty the Empress would surely inform the late Emperor, and the late Emperor would not speak of them to Your Majesty. Loyalty, virtue, diligence, and integrity are essential for handling important matters!"

Did Ke do all of this?

Indeed, the most poisonous heart is that of a woman!

Tianqi did indeed say that loyalty, virtue, diligence, and integrity are essential for handling important matters.

It seems that the affairs of the harem really have nothing to do with Wei Zhongxian.

Zhu Jue then asked coldly, "What about the eight pregnant palace maids? What do you have to say about that?"

Ke Yinyue, you're in charge of everything!
Wei Zhongxian hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, Liangqing is only seventeen years old this year. He is just an ignorant child. How could he possibly have eight palace maids pregnant in just a few months!"

"Those palace maids were all taken out of the palace by Hou Guoxing and Ke Guang. They might have chosen a few to serve Liang Qing in bed, but most of the time they served them. The children in those eight maids' bellies are probably theirs."

Hou Guoxing was the son of Madam Ke.

Ke Guangxian was Ke's younger brother.

These two guys have some nerve! They treat palace maids like playthings and even casually send them to other men to sleep with!

If their scheme to steal the sky and change the sun succeeds, the Ming emperor won't even know how many fathers he has!

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked coldly, "Why did you keep your brother's death a secret?"

I can only blame it all on Mr. Ke.

Wei Zhongxian hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Madam Ke did indeed want to imitate Lü Buwei's method and steal the sky and replace the sun. I disagreed and we were at an impasse, so I didn't have time to hold a funeral."

I will take this as true.

I still need you to deal with the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party. You'll have to take the blame for me. I'm not in a hurry to deal with you.

This is a perfect opportunity to teach this guy a lesson he won't tolerate.

Zhu Jue coldly replied, "Don't think you can get away with it by blaming everything on Madam Ke. Even if you're not the mastermind, you're still an accomplice!"

I have noted this matter down for you. From now on, if you dare to disobey me, you will be punished for treason, executed by slow slicing, and your entire family will be exterminated!

So, you're saying you'll let me off the hook?

Wei Zhongxian kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, I will remember this. Thank you for your grace."

Do you know how offensive it is to hear me, Your Majesty? Do you still think you're the Emperor?
Zhu Jue frowned slightly and said, "You still call yourself a humble subject?"

Uh, I'm not used to this.

Wei Zhongxian quickly changed his words, saying, "This servant wouldn't dare."

This should completely subdue this guy.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then said sternly, "The entire Ke family will be executed. You will confiscate all the Ke family's property. Within three days, I need one million taels of silver and one million shi of grain. If that's not enough, you will have to make up the difference."

what?
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian was taken aback.

It seems that the one million taels of silver is not a big problem. Xu Dahua has already raised 300,000 taels, which will be put into the inner treasury in the next two days. It should be no problem to confiscate 700,000 taels from the entire Ke family.

The problem is food; it's impossible for the Ke clan to have stored millions of bushels of grain.

It seems the Wei family will have to make up for the lack of food.

He was stunned for a moment before he hurriedly and respectfully cupped his hands and said, "This servant obeys the decree."

Upon seeing this, Zhu Jue simply raised his hand and waved it.

Wei Zhongxian quickly got up, clasped his hands in greeting, and took his leave.

Upon seeing this, both Lu Xiang-sheng and Sun Chuanting couldn't help but reveal a hint of admiration.

The current emperor's skill is truly admirable.

Wei Zhongxian was now firmly under his control, and with money and provisions secured, the threat of a mutiny in Liaodong was completely eliminated.

(End of this chapter)